Why hello there. Back again with another show I am. Don't know why I'm writing like Yoda. Anyways, this show is a Christmas Special. It's a mixture of Rock and Christmas themed songs, then Metal and Christmas themed songs. Any feedback is appreciated if you listen to the show, the link is below!
The Rock and Metal Double Feature Show Christmas 2013 Special: 20/12/13 Track listing: The Rock Show Proper Crimbo - Bo Selecta No Particular Place to Go - Chuck Berry Here Comes Santa Claus - Gene Autry Bad to the Bone - George Thorogood Stop the Cavalry - Jona Lewie Train in Vain - The Clash Power of Love - Frankie Goes to Hollywood Supersonic - Oasis 2000 Miles - The Pretenders Breed - Nirvana Christmas Day - She and Him Lucky You - The Lightning Seeds I Don't Care - Fall Out Boy Fairytale in New York - The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl The Metal Hour Paradise City - Guns 'n' Roses Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End) = The Darkness I Was Made for Lovin' You - KISS Highway to Hell - AC/DC Whiskey in the Jar - Metallica Break Stuff - Limp Bizkit Everywhere I Go - Hollywood Undead Santa Claws is Coming to Town - Alice Cooper The Biggest and the Best - Clawfinger Kidnap the Sandy Claws - KoRn Sucked In - Jerk Redneck - Lamb of God Walking Corpse - Brutal Truth X-M@$ - Corey Taylor Merry Christmas everyone! Other entries you might want to read: The Rock and Metal Double Feature Show (14/12/13) - DJ Show Download Festival Special Show - DJ Show The Rock and Metal Double Feature Show (30/11/13) - DJ Show
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Hey there and welcome to another one of my Mixtapes. This is different however. This is the first time I've remade a Mixtape. Best of Teenage Angst II? Yes, because six years ago I made the Best of Teenage Angst. It was one of my first ever Mixtapes, possibly even the first. Click here to see it.
So why have I remade my Mixtape? Well I listened to it recently and looked at the list of songs, and I just thought it looked wrong. It looked a little dated in some ways; some of the songs were popular back in 2006 and have not really been as good. Obviously songs from the eighties live on, but modern songs die quickly, some of them do anyway. And also, I was looking at some of the songs and wondering what the logic was behind their selections? Johnny Mercyside of six years ago made some odd choices. For instance, why "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine? That song isn't a song about teenage angst. Is it a rebellion 'fuck you' song? Yes. But that's because they're sticking two fingers up at a lot of problems with the world. They weren't whining about things that weren't fair for kids. They were being adults. I could talk about other songs that aren't in the new list but I'd be here for a while.
So this is the NEW Best of Teenage Angst. New and improved. What is the logic behind the selections of these songs? Well either the lyrical content is a little immature, or aimed at young teenagers. Songs like "I Hate People" by Anti-Nowhere League is an example about how silly the lyrical content is. But then you have "I'm Eighteen" by Alice Cooper in here, a song that deals with the dilemmas of teenage life. "I'm a boy and I'm a man, I'm eighteen and I get confused everyday". So hopefully that explains it.
Don't know much about Mixtapes? Here are the rules.
A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The
list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further
recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids,
downloading is wrong!
So here we go! Best of Teenage Angst II! Also, this
Mixtape is now available to listen to fully on YouTube so subscribe to me if you want to listen to it properly.
Orange Font - Artist was featured in 'Best of Teenage Angst I', but song has changed
So that's the new and improved Best of Teenage Angst! What songs can you think of that makes you think of teenage life, for good or bad? Comment below. Also do you think it's a better list of songs? Let me know. That's it from me, have a good day!
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Note: I've added that second paragraph below when someone corrected me about the term 'Industrial'. I apologise if I offended anyone, hopefully the rectification makes sense.
Hey
there and welcome to another one of my Mixtapes. Now, this Mixtape was really hard to compile, that's why it's a day late. Why? Because Industrial music is really hard to tab down. There's so many influences that helped made the genre, and there are so many influences from Industrial music that helped shape music today.
The roots of Industrial music started in the seventies and with the Industrial Records company, but they weren't really successful, nor was the sound. But it inspired the "Post-Industrial" genre, what we now know as Industrial music. So if you're an Industrial purist, you could say that the list below is not Industrial music, but Post-Industrial music. I will continue to consider this Mixtape and the songs and sound as Industrial music, but let's not be ignorant to the original genre of the seventies.
So what have I defined as Industrial below? Well, after the seventies Industrial Records scene, Industrial (or Post-Industrial) roots back to the early eighties. Arguably the first Post-Industrial band was Skinny Puppy, but of course, there were bands that influenced Skinny Puppy to make the sound they made, and there were a few bands around that time that while aren't Industrial as a sole genre, they also helped to the rise. Bands like Killing Joke, Bauhaus, Ministry, KMFDM and Kraftwerk are all bands that in some way, shape or form, helped Industrial music to become what it has been in the eighties, nineties and naughties.
But, and you can argue I'm biased in saying this, but to me, the band that pioneered Industrial music is Nine Inch Nails. A lot of the 1980s Industrial lacked melody, it sounded great but it was repetitive and became almost brainless music. But Nine Inch Nails added melody, added quality vocals and also started using ground breaking electronic metal music to add to the machinery sound that was Industrial music. As I said, I could be biased, as Nine Inch Nails are my favourite band.
Not familiar with my Mixtapes? Here are the rules.
A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The
list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further
recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids,
downloading is wrong!
This list you'll see below
isn't just Industrial music. It's a celebration of the sound, and the
sounds that have been influenced by Industrial music. Industrial music
has been used in so many genres since the boring machine sound of the
eighties, it's used in dance music, techno, alternative rock, indie,
metal and most recently, dubstep. You name the genre, chances are
Industrial had an assist in there for making the genre what it is today.
So there's a lot of bands here that aren't Industrial. But I've
selected certain songs by those bands, that have roots from the
Industrial genre, and have them showcase how good the sound can be when
done perfectly. I have some eighties industrial, nineties industrial, some electronic dance music and some heavy industrial metal. Enjoy my homage to Industrial music.
So I hope you enjoy this list. As I said, some of these bands are not Industrial, but I hope you understand their inclusion in the list. They have roots from the genre, and like to implement it into their modern sounds.
For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!
Hey everyone, welcome to the seventh edition in a series of
reviews of a year in music. So far I have covered all the 2000s together as the
Noughtie series,
and so far monthly, the year 1999,
then 1998,
followed by 1997,
and 1996,
1995 and then last month, 1994.
Just in case you’re not familiar with it, here’s the format.
It will be done in five parts. I'll do a brief history of what happened in that
year, followed by my five favourite albums of the year, then what I think the
five best videos are. I'll then do a Top 10 most impactful (still refraining
from using the word important) songs from that year. To wrap it up, I'll do my
favourite songs in a mixtape format. So now that you know where I'm going with
this, let's get to it!
This is an important year for me personally. This is
probably the first year that I genuinely am unsure if I remember much that
happened when I was actually a four year old boy. I know for a fact that I
heard some of these songs when I was a little older, but as a four year old,
who knows? 1992 is a definite no that’s for sure.
On a minor note, this is my landmark 200th post on the site. Here's to 200 more!
Brief History of the
Year 1993 in Music
KoRn
form, becoming one of metal's greatest and biggest acts of all time.
Guns
'n' Roses end their tour in July. It's the last time the original band has
played together.
Depeche
Mode release the album "Songs of Faith and Devotion" and gets to
#1 in the US, the first alternative British act to achieve top spot across
the pond.
Daft
Punk form, transforming electro and house music forever.
Brit-pop
band Suede release their debut album and it becomes the fastest selling
debut album in the UK at the time.
In
pop, Michael Jackson is accused of child molestation, accusations that
were never disproved or proved and haunted the rest of his career.
My Top 5 Albums of
1993
#5 – “Black Tie White Noise” by David Bowie
Released: 5/4/93
Rating: ***1/2 stars
Stand-out tracks: “Black Tie White Noise”, “Looking for
Lester”, “Jump They Say”
“Black Tie White Noise” isn’t David Bowie’s best work, in fact,
it was probably the beginning of the end for good quality Bowie efforts. While
I prefer some of Bowie’s mid nineties work to it (although as an album
“Earthling” is horrendous, “I’m Afraid of Americans” remixed by Trent Reznor
and “Little Wonder” were decent tracks), “Black Tie White Noise” is a good
middle ground between what was and what was to come for Bowie. In the eighties,
Bowie changed (yet again) his image and sound, and starting to merge into a new
wave sound along with bits of jazz, rhythm, blues and soul music (a lot of this
is in the fantastic instrumental “Looking for Lester”). He keeps certain parts
of those genres in this effort; put it this way, trumpets in this album are
aplenty. But there’s a certain ambiguity evident in this album, and that was
the next attempt of an image and music transition, and that was into industrial
music, inspired by the rise of Nine Inch Nails. It was ultimately unsuccessful,
but this transition between the eighties Bowie and the nineties Bowie, was a
decent effort. It’s not great but it is good, and it’s worth a listen if you
enjoy the many faces of Bowie, and if you like some or all of the genres
mentioned above.
#4 – “Pablo Honey” by Radiohead
Released: 22/2/93
Rating: ***3/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: “Creep”, “Anyone Can Play Guitar”, “Stop
Whispering”
Along with the newest effort “The King of Limbs”, this is my
least favourite Radiohead effort, but that’s not an uncommon opinion amongst
most fans of the band. “Pablo Honey”, the debut album, seemed confused about
its musical direction and influence, and ended up a mixture of indie, grunge, alternative
rock and the beginnings of Brit-pop. But it’s still a decent listen, and
“Creep” is still one of the biggest and best indie anthems of all time, Johnny
Greenwood’s almost lightning bolt sounding guitar is as iconic a sound in music
as anything in the past 20 years. But the rest of the album falls relatively
flat; they’re not bad songs but there’s barely anything great here either.
“Anyone Can Play Guitar” has some great snarling lyrics by Thom Yorke and “Stop
Whispering” has a nice melody and is the barebones basis on which most softer
Radiohead songs would sound like. “Pablo Honey” is a decent yet unspectacular
listen if you’re interested in the roots of Radiohead’s emergence.
I have a confession to make. I’m not that big on the
Smashing Pumpkins’ albums. I like the Pumpkins and have for sometime, but their
singles are usually very good, their albums are often a step downwards in terms
of quality. While my feelings on “Siamese Dream” are similar, the difference in
quality between singles and album tracks is a lot shorter. The singles are very
good, not quite as good in my opinion as some of the other tracks they were to
later release (like “Ava Adore” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”) but the
album tracks are pretty damn good. Very good in fact. One thing I would like to
say however; “Disarm” is a belter of a track and is the first truly stellar
Pumpkins song in my opinion. “Siamese Dream” is definitely an album to start
with, if you’re interested in getting into this band, that’s clear.
#2 – “Everybody Else is Doing it, So Why Can't We?” by The
Cranberries
One thing I keep doing when I’ve been going back in time to
review these years is forgetting the true quality The Cranberries have. The
thing is, I hadn’t listened to the band for so long because of personal
reasons; they were my father’s favourite band and I’m happy to say I’ve not
seen him for nine years. Let’s leave it at that.
But as for The Cranberries, I’ve slowly listened to these
albums again and remembered how good they were. “No Need to Argue” is my
favourite effort by the band, but probably on par in second place with “To the
Faithful Departed” is this cracker. It’s a great album, in the early to mid
nineties there was probably no other band consistently making great music
(Radiohead are a good contender mind). “Everybody Else is Doing it, So Why
Can’t We?”, the debut album, got the band some recognition before being shot
the Irish band into superstardom, with “Linger” getting lots of praise from
critics and it being a huge hit too. The rest became history, as The
Cranberries were to become THE Irish band at the time.
Huzzah! I can have my say on a Nirvana album! I’ve been
doing this yearly music review for 7 months now and my time has come!
I’ve always gone through phases in terms of what my
favourite Nirvana release is; it started off at Nevermind, as it did for a lot
of people. It then discretely went to Bleach, before I loved Incesticide more
than anything else despite it being a rarities and covers album. But for the
past three or four years it’s been In Utero, and I think it might stay that way
in all honesty. “In Utero” lacks the polish that Nevermind unintentionally has.
It’s funny to say that Nevermind has polish, but the album and its songs have
been played and talked about so religiously that’s how it feels. In Utero,
because it’s never played any where near as much, feels raw and venomous, and I
say that with praise. “In Utero” is Kurt Cobains “fuck you world” album, before
he unfortunately gave his life up because he couldn’t cope anymore. And it’s
bold, it’s brash, and it oozes excellence, “Scentless Apprentice” is possibly
my favourite Nirvana song as it contains everything that made the band great;
the excellent drums, the distorted guitars and Cobain’s wailing vocals. “In
Utero” is full of this and sounds as amazing in 2012 as it did 19 years ago.
It’s a true classic and is by far the best album released in 1993, in my
opinion.
My Top 5 Music Videos
of 1993
#5 – “Losing You” by Jan Terri
Okay, I’m kinda putting this in as a joke but to be fair,
there weren’t many ‘great’ videos in 1993. But this baby, seriously, you have
to watch it above. Jan Terri’s video for “Losing You” does everything bad about
making videos and crams it into one huge mess. She’s lip synching badly, she’s
wearing some pretty bad looking leathers, all she does in the entire video is
leave a hotel, go in a cab, ride her motorcycle and pose next to a sewage pipe,
then goes back home. And while all of this is happening, the whole thing looks
like it’s done on a camcorder, and the person filming keeps zooming either to
her face a little closely, or worse, away from her and to the skies… and then
back in her direction. It’s an incredible display of incompetence on camera and
that’s why it’s one of my Top 5 videos of 1993. Honest. No I’m joshing but you
seriously have to watch it, it’s very funny and disturbing at the same time!
#4 – “Cannonball” by The Breeders
It’s not the best of videos in terms of quality and artistic
movement, but nevertheless “Cannonball” is a distinctively memorable video. The
nice calm verses usually have the band playing and sitting in a bedroom, where
as the angry choruses tend to show the band in a frenzy. There are shots of
lead singer (and bass player of The Pixies) Kim Deal singing under water and of
a huge cannonball rolling down the street. As I said it’s not the flashiest
video, but it fits the song perfectly and grabs your attention at the same
time. Also, it was an early Spike Jonze effort, the man who would be one of the
best music video directors of all time.
#3 – “Big Time Sensuality” by Bjork
How can you not like Bjork in this video? She’s so cute! Set
in New York, the video was actually inspired bizarrely, by “Give it Away” by
the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Bjork liked the black and white video and how it
looked, and wanted it for this video. So the video is basically her singing and
dancing on the back of a large truck that’s moving through the streets of New
York. It’s not much more than that, but it’s still a striking video, and
Bjork’s facial expressions are great. It’s just one of those videos that is
hard to keep your eyes off. There’s not much else to say really.
#2 – “Heart-Shaped Box” by Nirvana
The video for “Heart-Shaped Box” is a visually stunning
piece of work. Kurt Cobain had his own imagination and imagery for how he
wanted the video to look and worked with director Anton Corbijn closely to get
it as close to the idea in Cobain’s head as possible. From what has been said
Cobain was really happy with the overall product and is probably his favourite
Nirvana music video. A lot of the video doesn’t seem to make much sense unless
you try to analyse it properly and has mixtures of a terminal man in hospital
going to a dream-like location and climbing up a ladder to a cross. There’s a
lot of references to the human foetus and birth as well, probably all from Cobain’s
widely reported anxiety of the birth of his baby daughter at the time. There’s
a lot more, a young girl dressed up as a member of the Ku Klux Klan and a large
woman wearing a costume that has internal organs painted on it. It’s just a
dream-like artistic masterpiece, one that shows the true visions of Cobain’s
complex mind, but for us music fans, it’s a truly stunning piece of work to
watch and try to interpret.
#1 – “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M.
Not many videos are as perfect for the song they represent
as “Everybody Hurts” is. Explaining what happens in this video is simple, but
the imagery, the interpretation of what happens, is as strong a message as the
song itself. A huge traffic jam happens on a very long road, and throughout the
first two thirds of the video everyone’s thoughts are displayed on screen. Some
people are contemplating life, or what people think of them, or motives they
have that are too strong to be said in person. It’s a multitude of people with
different backgrounds all thinking different things, but all ultimately,
negative. All of a sudden everyone starts leaving their cars and walk off into
the distance.
The video is open to interpretation but to me, it’s all of
these people, deciding, “fuck it”, and moving on with their lives. It’s
everyone with different motives and problems, and they all decide to leave
their problems behind and “hold on”. It’s a strong video, one of the most
memorable videos of the decade and all time, and more than worth seeing if you
haven’t before.
The Top 10 Most
Impactful Songs of 1993
As I said, I'm NOT calling it the 'important' list, although
it's more than just popularity as well. Anyway, here are the 10 songs of the
year. It's an unbiased list.
#10 – “Big Time Sensuality” by Bjork
While “Play Dead” did get higher in the charts, “Big Time
Sensuality” for me is the song that really gave Bjork a strong following as an
artist, particularly in the States. “Debut” was a big album for the Icelandic
singer, and she was seeing some success already, but this song solidified her
as an artist of the future. It had the right mix of oddity and cuteness to be
expected by the small yet fiery lady, and the video was iconic for its time
too. Getting to #19, it set the tone for a lot of Bjork’s immediate future
releases, although she was naturally to change her style and artistic direction
as the new millennium was approaching. Still “Big Time Sensuality” was a great
track, and was a taste of what was to come.
#9 – “Today” by the Smashing Pumpkins
It’s amazing looking back to the year 1993 that “Today”
wasn’t the lead single of “Siamese Dream”, but “Cherub Rock” did. It was
debated what should be the lead single and Billy Corban used the latter, yet
it’s barely remembered or considered as an impactful Pumpkins song. “Today” was
a sleeper hit, and remains one of the Smashing Pumpkins’ finest singles for
both critical and commercial success. The relatively optimistic sounding lyrics
and music is in deep contrast to the suicidal tendencies that Billy Corgan was
going through and writing about when making this song. The lyrics are probably
intentionally ironic to the darkness that Corgan was engulfed in, and it’s
often got fans confused about what the song’s lyrics are about. Regardless,
getting to #44 in the UK charts isn’t that great, but it’s remembered more than
most of the songs that charted higher since.
#8 – “Cannonball” by The Breeders
It may have only got to #40 in the UK charts but this song
will live forever as one of the best indie songs of all time. The Pixies bass
player Kim Deal’s band only really had this one hit, although it didn’t chart
well, before she went back to the Pixies later on in her career. But what a
song it is. It’s a great track and as previously stated the video is excellent
too. “Cannonball” packs a lot of punch with it’s buzzing guitars and quietly
sung verses, and screams ‘girl power’ before the Spice Girls even existed.
#7 – “Insane in the Brain” by Cypress Hill
I’m very selective when it comes to rap, hip hop, dance,
techno and other non rock related genres, but this is a hip hop classic.
Cypress Hill have had higher charting songs but in terms of longevity nothing
comes close to how big this song is. It has many samples in it, and is actually
a diss song about how rapper Chubb Rock was mocking their music. Who would have
thought that it would become one of the most influential and highly regarded
hip hop songs of all time? It’s a cracker of a song and is favoured by fans of
many genres from pop to rock and metal. It’s that good a song.
I was debating whether or not to put this song in this list
being a pop song of sorts, but the band also produce dance music and are an
extension of the New Wave bands of the early eighties. Originally a song by the
Village People, the Pet Shop Boys took this song by the scruff of the neck and
made it their own. It’s not my genre of music but the fact that the song still
has a strong following nineteen years later, especially as a football anthem
says more than the fact that it got to #2 in the UK charts. Regardless of the
definition of the Pet Shop Boys representing any genre in particular, this song
is above that debate. It’s simply a classic.
#5 – “Walk” by Pantera
I’ve said it a few times but this list isn’t just about
success, it’s about longevity, it’s about the songs creating a legacy that will
more than likely live forever and become legendary tracks in music history. And
these credentials all fit “Walk” by Pantera to a tee. There aren’t many metal
songs in the past twenty years that are as universally as popular as “Walk”. It
was an instant classic, what with the amazingly heavy yet simple riff, the
‘walking’ riff as it’s known as that sounds absolutely badass. Then the Dimebag
Darrell guitar solo towards the end of the song completely contrasts the
simplicity of the main riff; it’s an incredible guitar solo. “Walk” only got to
#35 in the UK charts, but not many songs released in 1993 will be remembered as
fondly down the line, it’s just a true metal classic in every way.
#4 – “Linger” by The Cranberries
While “Zombie” is more likely to be the song that is most
widely associated with The Cranberries, “Linger” is a debated song to claim
that title as well. “Linger” was the band’s first major hit, getting to #14
here in the UK but it got higher in the Irish and US charts. It’s safe to say
that without “Linger”, The Cranberries probably wouldn’t be the band they are
today, and that is one of the biggest bands of the nineties, and probably THE
biggest band from Ireland in the past twenty years. “Linger” still gets decent
airplay today, along with “Zombie”, and they are both indie classics. I’m using
the word ‘classic’ a lot today huh? There are a lot of classic tracks from
1993, and here’s three more!
#3 – “Heart-Shaped Box” by Nirvana
Getting to #5 in the UK charts, this is Nirvana’s highest
charting single. Obviously a lot of the singles released off “Nevermind” made a
bigger impact and get more airplay, but “Heart-Shaped” box is still a classic,
and lyrically, one of Cobain’s finest efforts. Pressure was at an all time high
for Nirvana to replicate or surpass the legacy of “Nevermind”, and with the
release of “Heart-Shaped Box” and the album “In Utero”, I think Nirvana did as
good a job they could have to appease the fans and critics. “Heart-Shaped Box”
is another classic, a great song and one that like the band and Cobain himself,
will live forever.
Yeah, Meat Loaf. Most people either love him or hate him. I
lean towards the latter, especially musically, but you can’t deny the success,
the legacy and longevity this song has. I was torn between this and the song
below about what should be #1, they’re both huge huge songs for completely
different reasons. But this song in terms of grandeur is hard to beat, that is
in any song in any era of music. This song is just grand in every way. But it’s
funny how it all happened really.
In 1977 Meat Loaf released the highly acclaimed classic “Bat
Out of Hell” album with the music single of the same title. It’s gone 7 times
platinum here in the UK, 14 times platinum in the US and 24 times platinum in
Australia. While success was always there for Meat Loaf, he never reached those
heights, arguably ever again. But in 1993 he took a huge gamble. A really big
gamble. He made a sequel album called “Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell” and
this was the main single release. It’s a big risk because not many sequels,
album-wise, are good in music. They’re often frowned upon. But this song, not
necessarily the album, but the song surpassed anything Meat Loaf did 16 years
prior, and helped Meat Loaf get the album platinum 6 times here and 5 times in
the US.
The song was a #1 hit in no less than 28 countries. That’s a
huge feat. The music video and the song still get played today more so than
most other songs of the nineties. It’s a true classic if there ever was one.
But the song below, the song I put as the #1 song of 1993 surpasses this song
in different ways.
#1 – “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M.
No it didn’t get to #1 in 28 countries, in fact it got to a
decent #7 here in the UK. But this song is a modern heart wrencher. Aimed at
teenagers who are struggling with coping with the wears and tears of everyday
life and that they are not alone with their problems, “Everybody Hurts” did
more than that, it hit everyone in a way stronger than most people anticipated.
This song breaks genres and musical tastes. It’s more than a song about
teenagers struggling with their issues. It’s a song for the modern age, a song
about modern Western culture, where we all at different ages and social
backgrounds all struggle with life, for many difference reasons whether it’s
social, financial, emotional or mental issues. We all hurt. We all struggle.
And we all need to hold on. And that’s why this song continues to make an
impact now, nearly twenty years later and probably will for a long long time to
come. Everybody hurts sometimes.
The Year 1993 Mixtape
Just in case you didn't know by now...
"A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or
era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with
further recommendations if some of the songs aren’t to your taste. Remember
kids, downloading is wrong!"
So here we go! My favourite songs from the year 1993. Yes,
this is a biased list.
You can now listen to this playlist on YouTube! Just click here!
And there we go! The year 1993 in review! Next month
naturally I’ll be covering 1992 and continue my descend into music history.
What we your favourite songs and albums from 1993? Any other comments or
queries? Raise them below. Thanks for your time.
For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!
Hey everyone, welcome to the fifth edition in a series of
reviews of a year in music. So far I have covered all the 2000s together as the
Noughtie series,
and so far monthly, the
year 1999,
then 1998,
followed by 1997 and then last month, 1996.
Just in case you’re not familiar with it, here’s the format.
It will be done in five parts. I'll do a brief history of what happened in that
year, followed by my five favourite albums of the year, then what I think the
five best videos are. I'll then do a Top 10 most impactful (still refraining
from using the word important) songs from that year. To wrap it up, I'll do my
favourite songs in a mixtape format. So now that you know where I'm going with
this, let's get to it!
We’re half way through the decade now. 1996 was a fantastic year;
let’s see how good 1995 was.
Brief History of the
Year 1995 in Music
Dave
Grohl of Nirvana starts his own band and calls it the Foo Fighters. They
would go on to be one of the biggest rock bands for the next decade.
Oasis
release "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" and it becomes one
of the best selling albums of all time and many of the singles get to #1.
Pink
Floyd disband after a career that covered 31 years. The classic lineup
wouldn’t play together again for another 10 years.
Nickelback
form. They release their first album a year later, but find worldwide
success at the start of the next decade.
In
rap, Tupac gets sent to prison on sexual assault charges. Later his album,
"Me Against the World" get to #1 in America, the first time in
history a solo artist has a #1 album whilst in prison.
In
pop, Michael Jackson releases a double album named HIStory and it becomes
the highest selling double album of all time.
My Top 5 Albums of
1995
#5 – “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” by Oasis
Released: 2/10/95
Rating: **** stars
Stand-out tracks: “Champagne Supernova”, “Don't Look Back in
Anger”, “Roll with It”
Just in case you didn’t know, the albums lists are
completely biased. Doing unbiased lists on albums is impossible unless you’re
part of a collective group of people. It goes without saying that this would be
the top album of 1995 in an unbiased list however, the album is the fourth
highest selling album in the UK ever, it got to #1 in the UK, Australia, New
Zealand, Canada and Spain, it won a Brit Award for best album, two songs got to
#1 in the UK charts (Some Might Say and Don't Look Back in Anger), the Brit
Awards named the album the best in the past thirty years, it being on Rolling
Stone’s list of best albums of all time, and other accolades.
But this is a biased list and while this is my favourite
Oasis album, my feelings on Oasis are mixed. However, this is their best work
and it’s got some fantastic tracks on this album, none better than the
brilliant and anthemic “Champagne Supernova”, a song that most certainly should
have been released as a single in this country, and of course the song that was
heavily influenced by John Lennon’s “Imagine”, “Don’t Look Back in Anger”, a
song that is considered one of the band’s best singles ever, this album is a
fantastic listen. It’s one of those albums that you just have to hear, no
matter what your taste in music is and if you like Oasis or not. It’s a
classic, and a legendary album.
#4 – “Astro Creep: 2000” by White Zombie
Released: 11/4/95
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: "Electric Head Pt. 2 (The Ecstasy)”, “More
Human Than Human”, “Real Solution #9”
Astro Creep: 2000, or if you want its elaborate title, “Astro-Creep:
2000 – Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric
Head”, is definitely my favourite White Zombie album. I much prefer the work of
Rob Zombie as a solo artist rather than the band he was associated with prior,
but this is a fine piece of work. The album’s sound is the closest White Zombie
came to being the sound Rob Zombie is most associated with; the album is full
of industrial metal, obscene lyrics and snippets from old horror films cut into
the core of the tracks. The album and the single, “More Human Than Human”, were
nominated for Grammy awards, and the album was and is featured on many “Best of
the Nineties” album lists. It’s a truly great album, the final album White
Zombie did as a group, and paved the way for Rob Zombie’s solo career to be as
big as it’s become.
#3 – “Garbage” by Garbage
Released: 15/8/95
Rating: ****1/4 stars
Stand-out tracks: “Not My Idea”, “Supervixen”, “As Heaven is
Wide”
Garbage’s debut album is probably my favourite, although
their first three albums were all good quality. This debut has some excellent
work on it, and Shirley Manson, who at this point was eleven years into her
musical career, sounds fantastic. Manson has always had a good voice, but I
don’t think she’s ever sounded as good as she did in 1995. The music sounds
great too, Garbage have always managed to combine alternative rock with
electronica and parts of dare I say it, industrial rock. There’s a certain
element of Garbage’s sound that hasn’t really been replicated, despite there
being a few bands that are associated with them. I thoroughly enjoy listening
to Garbage’s debut album and put it on every once in a while, and it always
manages to sound as fresh as it did in 1995.
Elastica’s debut album is something else. At the time, it
got to #1 in the UK charts, it was certified gold, and became the fasting
selling debut album of all time (it’s now Leona Lewis with “Spirit”). Elastica
had a brilliant sound, mixing punk, post-punk, early indie, grunge and brit-pop
together and with the fantastic female vocals of Justine Frischmann, this is
one of my favourite childhood albums. It’s odd that they were as popular as
they were, also being nominated for a Mercury Music Prize, considering the
genre, but in the years of post-Nirvana-mania, the popularity of the harder
rock sound obviously was still strong, at least for this moment of 1995. I
absolutely love this album, the first half is as good as any album out there
and while the quality is on the slight decrease towards the end, the final
track “Vaseline”, an awesome 90 second piece, is as great an ending to an album
around. Overall, this is a brilliant album, one I definitely recommend you get
if you like female bands (the drummer is male mind) and the idea of a punky
grungy brit-pop outfit.
#1 – “The Bends” by Radiohead
Released: 13/3/95
Rating: ****1/2 stars
Stand-out tracks: "My Iron Lung", "Just",
"(Nice Dream)"
The Bends is my favourite Radiohead album, as well as my
favourite album of 1995. It was a challenging time for the band. “Pablo Honey”
was released; “Creep” became a huge hit in the UK and the US. The sound of
their first album, a more raw and aggressive version of their eventual style,
was considered a soft Nirvana, grunge if you will. They hated the idea that
they were considered a Nirvana knockoff, as well as the increasing reputation
to do a bigger and better song than “Creep”. They took refuge from the hype
throughout 1994 and 1995, releasing an EP of the track “My Iron Lung” to show a
different direction that they were heading in. “The Bends” is the end product
of that separation from their debut, and it’s a transitional step to the sound
they would then develop with “OK Computer” a sound they have tweaked around
with, but haven’t drifted too far away from.
But I preferred this sound. It’s the hardest and heaviest
album they’ve done (not that it’s heavy) and it’s just a great sounding rock
album. Radiohead have been called everything, from indie, alternative, grunge,
rock, dance, techno, ambient, brit-pop, everything. But this is just rock; it’s
a rock album and I just love it. Johnny Greenwood was at his experimental best
here, his distortions in his guitars are absolutely magnificent, and sounds
best in “My Iron Lung” and “(Nice Dream)". This is just an album you have to
hear, and it’s my preference over “OK Computer”, if you want to try and get
into Radiohead but don’t know where to start.
My Top 5 Music Videos
of 1995
#5 - "It’s Oh So Quiet” by Bjork
You can’t help but love a bit of Bjork. Iceland’s best
export since four chicken breaststeaks for £1, she really was something in the
nineties. So cute, so weird, so different and she had a fiery temper when she
wanted to. But her finest moment really was this, a cover version of Betty
Hutton’s version from 1951; a song that was forgotten about completely by 1995
was revived in amazing fashion. The video played every part in its success. The
song and video were very reminiscent of the musicals of old, where normal day
life is emphasised in the slow and ‘quiet’ verses and then the bright and
colourful chorus brings everyone to life and lots and lots of dancing
commences. Bjork’s fine video remains one of the most iconic videos of the
nineties.
#4 - "Common People” by Pulp
This was one of the first music videos that really struck me
as a kid. I was six years old when this came out, and I still remember being
engulfed in this fantastic artistic location that the video was in. The
supermarket section especially was something that stuck with me as a memory
from my childhood. The art direction is just great and the homages to “Yellow
Submarine” by the Beatles is cool. The awful yet cool dance routine at the end
makes me laugh now as it fits Jarvis Cocker to a tee. The actress, Sadie Frost,
who also was in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and The Krays, does a great job playing
the ‘uncommon’ person who likes the ‘common people’. This video is a must see
if you’ve never seen it before, it’s just a great video.
#3 - "Where the Wild Roses Grow” by Nick Cave and Kylie
Minogue
If there ever was such a perfect video for a perfect story
told in song format this is it. Nick Cave’s “Murder Ballads”, which was
released the following year and covered last month, is a phenomenal piece of work
anyway, and this video gives a fantastic visual for one of the deaths in the
album. “Eliza Day”, otherwise known as the Wild Rose, is played by the beautiful
Kylie Minogue and her murderer is played by Nick Cave. The video pretty much
word for word describes the song’s story, but it’s just beautifully crafted,
filmed and acted by the two musicians. The Wild Rose is murdered by the
character Nick Cave plays, the reasoning possibly being he wants her to be
remembered as beautiful in his memories forever, rather than her getting old
and weak. She takes him to the river, they kiss and then he kills her with a
rock. He then closes her eyes, puts a rose between her teeth, and sets her body
to the river. It’s a beautifully crafted death and it’s one of the best videos
of the year.
#2 - "Dope Hat” by Marilyn Manson
I don’t know how many of you have seen this video. It’s
basically Manson’s homage to one of the greatest children’s films of all time,
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Just in case you’re not familiar with
Manson’s full work, this was from his debut album released the year earlier,
“Portrait of an American Family”. The first few Manson videos actually had
Marilyn Manson with virtually no makeup, although he did have his contact
lenses. This was the first Manson video for him to feature heavy amounts of
makeup, and looking like the Manson we all know and love/hate. The video is
pretty much the boat ride from the Willy Wonka film, with some of the images in
the background being slightly more vivid than those in the original film. The
funny thing is, the original scene in the Willy Wonka film was quite scary in
the first place, despite it being a children’s film, and this is only a slight
notch above that. The video does insinuate that these vivid images are all to
do with drug use, hence the title “Dope Hat”. The CGI isn’t great, especially
the awful looking ‘chocolate river’, but still I like this video and it was the
first time Manson used his imagination on a visual basis.
#1 - "Just” by Radiohead
This is one of the best music videos of all time. Of all
time. If you’ve never seen this video before, watch it above. Seriously.
It’s such a simple video, a simple message but it hooked
every person that saw it. It doesn’t matter if you like Radiohead; you wanted
to know what was said at the end of the video. The idea behind one man, just
one guy, falling to the floor and lying there for no reason in the middle of a
road astounds everyone around him. Everyone questions why he’s lying there,
doing nothing and the man tells everyone to leave him alone as they wouldn’t
understand. They beg of him to explain his actions, and he warns them, that if
he tells them, God help them all as they don’t know what has been asked of him.
And then the man tells them. By the way, the entire dialogue of the video is
subtitled… apart from the last line! So when he tells them, you the viewer,
hasn’t a clue what was said. And the consequence of him telling everyone? They
all fall to the floor too, and join the man. WHAT MADE THEM DO THAT?! WHAT DID
HE SAY?! GAARRGGHH! It’s just a brilliant yet simple story.
The Top 10 Most
Impactful Songs of 1995
As I said, I'm NOT calling it the 'important' list, although
it's more than just popularity as well. Anyway, here are the 10 songs of the
year. It's an unbiased list.
#10 - "Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails
This was a promotional single rather than a commercial one,
but it doesn’t matter, it was a single and it more than deserves entry in this
list. No the song didn’t chart well, it got to #54 in the Radio Songs Chart in
the US, and never charted here, and yes, the excellent Johnny Cash cover version
was and is more popular. But the original, by Nine Inch Nails, is still well
thought of today and remains one of the most amazing songs of the nineties. The
song deals with self harm and self destruction and is the amazing finale to one
of the best albums of all time, The Downward Spiral. Many people interpret the
lyrics as a suicide note for the character portrayed in the album while others
find the song dealing with the long hard road of life, battling through the
scars and blood and falling to the depths of destruction only to finally accept
life and finally accept that live is worth living for. I personally interpret
the song as the latter and find the song a real inspiration for those who
struggle with their demons in their personal lives. I’ve been fortunate not to
have many struggles, and as such don’t appreciate the song as much as many
other people do. But I know a lot of people who have had hard times in their
lives, and find comfort in this song knowing they’re not alone. These reasons
are the simple reason of its inclusion in this list, and the justification for
me to call it one of the most impactful and most important songs of all time.
While “Stupid Girl” became Garbage’s signature track the
year later, “Only Happy When it Rains” was the new platform that Garbage set
for themselves. It was not only their first major hit, but it was also a decent
hit in America and got them noticed over there. The song only got to #29 at the
time but it was a major step forward from the previous two singles and made the
band go onto bigger success. In America it got to #16 in the Modern Rock
Charts, #11 in Canada’s Alternative Chart, #36 in the Netherlands and #41 in
New Zealand. All these facts and figures don’t relate to the real story in
which the song is still played a decent amount today and is still considered
one of Garbage’s best songs. The fact that “Stupid Girl” became such a big hit
later on shows the strength this song had, if it wasn’t for this “Stupid Girl”
wouldn’t have done so well.
#8 - "Down by the Water” by PJ Harvey
Similarly, “Down by the Water” didn’t chart too well but as
many PJ Harvey fans are also aware, not many of Polly Jean’s songs do. Similar
to Nick Cave, there’s an injustice in popular music where the artist and the
quality of music isn’t associated with chart success. PJ Harvey’s work is
always appreciated critically, but it never turns into cash and chart success
which is a damn shame. Still, this song is considered one of PJ Harvey’s
biggest and best songs and still gets a decent amount of airplay today. The
song may have only got to #38 here in the UK but it did pretty damn well in
America, getting to #2 in the “Alternative Songs”. PJ Harvey has had better
chart success in the UK since, but not many of her songs are fondly thought of
and played as often as this.
#7 - "Connection” by Elastica
Elastica’s story is so sad. They had so much potential, such
a kickass sound and they had a decent period of success too. Everything was
going so well. “Connection” is the song that people fondly remember by Elastica
and it’s still played today. It was brilliant. The song got to #17 here in the
UK and #2 in the US Modern Rock Charts, quite a feat for such a new band. And
then, the horrible happened. They got accused for stealing certain parts of
certain songs by a band called Wire and many court settlements ensued. After
that, the band turns to drugs, and lead singer Justine Frichmann admitted she
was a “sad junkie” for long periods of time. They never released a new album
for five years, despite announcing in 1996 they were to release new material.
The band just self imploded after that. What a shame. “Connection” as a song
was fantastic and the band successful at one point. Then that potential was
lost to drugs. Again.
#6 - "It’s Oh So Quiet” by Bjork
What a cover version. The original is barely remembered
while Bjork has made this her signature song. It’s difficult to label Bjork
anywhere, she’s a bit of an enigma. But this song is the one most people
remember of her, with the fantastic video and her cute looks, combined with the
fun and musical elements of the song itself. The song got to #4 here in the UK
while elsewhere it got to #5 in Finland, #6 in Australia, #7 in Ireland #19 in
the Netherlands and #20 in Belgium. I
don’t know if Bjork thinks as high of this song as her other tracks, I mean it
was a cover version after all and there are many sides and variances in her
career that I’m sure she’d like to remembered more for. But she took a song
that was at the time 44 years old and was forgotten about and resurrected.
Great stuff.
Now now. If you’re going to complain about me putting a pop
song in this list then forget about it. It’s my rules and I can break them
because I’m a hypocrite. No, the reason why I’m including a pop song is purely
because of the artist. Michael Jackson is bigger than pop music. His legendary
career is among the elite in the world of music and deserves mention in these
lists. If (and it’s still an if) I start covering the eighties and seventies, I
may have to include more and more pop music, as certain pop music is well
received in the rock and metal scenes.
Anyway, the “Earth Song” needs no introduction really. It’s
an epic track. In terms of presentation, lyrics, message and sound, it can be
argued no song is bigger and grander than the “Earth Song”. Michael Jackson
pleads to the world to start thinking about the devastation humanity is doing
to the world. He pleads for us to think about the environment, the treatment of
animals amongst other things. The video also is grand and further emphasises
this. Because of Jackson’s fame and wealth, he was able to portray a message
that broke all blockages in communication in the world. Regardless of your race
or language, you understood the message of the song. In its grandeur, this song
is one of the greatest. It got to #1 in many many MANY countries, at least
fourteen to be exact. But there’s one major negative feeling about the whole
thing and many people feel this way. It just felt over exaggerated and pompous
for Michael Jackson to preach about morality like that. It’s the only
criticism, and the live performances and the video, which in certain elements
make Michael Jackson look like a modern Jesus, adds to this frustration.
Regardless of the negative connotations to the song, it was incredibly
successful and full of grandeur, and deserves a mention as one of the biggest
songs of the year and decade.
#4 - "Country House” by Blur
As I mentioned earlier, I was six years old when these songs
came out. 1995 is the earliest year really that I thoroughly remember as a kid
rather than as an adult looking back on the history of music. 1994 backwards is
going to be an odd challenge for me. Anyway, I clearly remember the battle between
Oasis and Blur, the “Battle of Britpop” as it’s dubbed, and I remember “Country
House” beating “Roll With It” for the #1 spot. You can debate what the bigger
song between those two is, but “Country House” was still a huge hit. Blur have
had songs before and after this song that are more popular, but this is only
one of two #1 hits the band has had (the other being “Beetlebum”). “Country
House” might not have the long term airplay as other tracks but you can’t deny
that this song is a classic, and it’s still catchy and sounds good today.
#3 - "Alright” by Supergrass
“We are young! We are free! We have teeth! Nice and clean!
See our friends, see the sights, feel alright!” What a great song this was.
It’s a shame though as it’s been misinterpreted as a song about young lads
having a good time, but it was actually about young teenagers starting to
discover the joys of adolescence. Supergrass will always be associated with
this song even though they grew up and matured as a band, and it’s a shame
really, that other songs didn’t get the same reception as this. Supergrass
aren’t a bad band at all, I’ve seen them live, but they’ll never beat this
track, a song that got to #2 in the charts. “Alright” still gets played today
and is featured on many soundtracks even today, sixteen years after its
release. This song is a brit-pop classic and is a staple in the history of the
nineties in music.
#2 - "Common People” by Pulp
I’ve only just realised but the Top 3 songs of 1995 are all
#2 hits. It goes to show that getting to #1 isn’t always the best thing for
longevity, as I really put my foot down when I say that the Top 3 in this list
are songs that have made a bigger long term impact than “Country House” and
“Earth Song”.
Anyway, allow me to copy and paste the last sentence in the
previous entry. This song is a brit-pop classic and is a staple in the history
of the nineties in music. Now that was lazy on my part but that sentence fits
perfectly. “Common People” is one of the biggest tracks in brit-pop history, in
the nineties and possibly, of all time. “Common People” was just so amazing,
describing the idea of rich and upper class people trying to fit in with the
common. It’s something that does and has happened, and I think it’s something
that has become more of a thing of the past now. 1995 was definitely a
transitional year, not only in music where brit-pop was in its prime, but also
in society. The difference in attitude between upper and lower class doesn’t
really exist as much as it did in the eighties, and parts of the early
nineties. This song definitely describes that subtle change. And the song
itself is just fantastic, it’s very catchy and Pulp are responsible for the
imagery and putting these changes into song format. Not only is the song
important, but it made a phenomenal impact and is easily considered Pulp’s
finest moment in the eyes of many people.
Well I was going to put the Mike Flowers version as #1 but
last minute I decided against it. Okay seriously, I’ve covered 1995 to 2009 on
this website now in this format and I can quite easily say this song is the
biggest song to come out in this time period. “Wonderwall” can’t be beat in
terms of impact, at the time and long term. The song is one of the most covered
tracks in recent history with Mike Flowers above doing it, as well as Ryan
Adams, Jay-Z, Robbie Williams, Richard Cheese and Radiohead all having a bash
at it, some for comedy value, others because of the greatness of the track.
“Wonderwall” joins #2 and #3 in this list as the threesome of tracks to get to
#2 at the time, but then excelling many other songs, if not every other tracks
to be released in the year of 1995. “Wonderwall” doesn’t really need any
introduction, it’s the song Oasis will always be associated with, it’s a
classic, it’s anthemic, it’s just unavoidable. “Wonderwall” will live forever
in music history as one of the greatest songs of all time, if you like it or
not.
The Year 1995 Mixtape
Just in case you didn't know by now...
"A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or
era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with
further recommendations if some of the songs aren’t to your taste. Remember
kids, downloading is wrong!"
So here we go! My favourite songs from the year 1995. Yes,
this is a biased list.
It's
Oh So Quiet – Bjork
Common
People – Pulp
Just
– Radiohead
Lump
- The Presidents of the United States of America
And there we go! The year 1995 in review! I hope you've
enjoyed this. So that’s half the nineties covered, next month naturally I’ll be
covering 1994 and continue my descend into music history. What we your favourite
songs and albums from 1995? Any other comments or queries? Raise them below.
Thanks for your time.
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